Advice on PW choice please
JadenBlake
Member Posts: 6
Hello all,
Played NWN years ago and then NWN diamond but never went online with it. The more I look into these PW the more I am interested. Here is what I am looking for and am wondering if anyone can point me to at least something similar.
RP
Balance changes namely to animal companions, summons, magic as a whole
Dungeon delving and rewards
Cities with interaction such as setting up shops
Mostly player driven with decent player volume
Non toxic atmosphere
Ability to make buildings/villages with friends
Possibly ability to hire NPCs to run businesses like inns.
I've seen lots for most of what I ask for but the last two points are what I'm wondering if anything is out there for it.
Thanks in advance for all the love.
Played NWN years ago and then NWN diamond but never went online with it. The more I look into these PW the more I am interested. Here is what I am looking for and am wondering if anyone can point me to at least something similar.
RP
Balance changes namely to animal companions, summons, magic as a whole
Dungeon delving and rewards
Cities with interaction such as setting up shops
Mostly player driven with decent player volume
Non toxic atmosphere
Ability to make buildings/villages with friends
Possibly ability to hire NPCs to run businesses like inns.
I've seen lots for most of what I ask for but the last two points are what I'm wondering if anything is out there for it.
Thanks in advance for all the love.
1
Comments
I waited for a little while before responding to this because I'm sure there are probably PW's out there with many or all of the things you mentioned in your post. Forgotten Realms Cormyr(or FRC) doesn't offer some of these things in the concrete sense but through RP and with time a player/character can earn quite a bit in both material wealth/gear, their own pad, and reputation both with NPC's and other PC's.
Some of the things we don't have in the concrete sense as mentioned above but technically are still something we try to provide. I'll do my best to touch on those specific points...
- Cities with interaction such as setting up shops
Players are able to take on a merchant role and purchase a merchant license to sell(legally under Cormyr law) whatever they want. There is a standard mark up charge in accordance with this but yes you can play a merchant. Several players who set up shops use a custom placable sign that they give a custom name so people know they're open for business
- Ability to make buildings/villages with friends
We actually haven't had anyone try to RP making a village but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. Players through RP as I mentioned above have earned their own homes and currently there is actually player housing in the works which we hope to implement at some point. Some of these we plan to make a bit more cookie cutter than the rest and other houses for some characters are custom(a forest cottage, a cave, etc).
- Possibly ability to hire NPC's to run businesses like inns
Yes, this has been done and the particular character actually owned the inn, of course this was for the benefit of RP and there was no material gain from it directly, however, players appreciated the inn so much donations became a common thing to help the inn.
Now, in terms of spells, summons and balance changes we do have a plethora of things that have been changed. One of the big changes we made years ago was to raise some of the offensive spells caster level damage caps. An example of this would be fireball, instead of capping at 10d6 it now caps out at 15d6, this is to give a bit more reward to those who want to play an offensive caster, taking that risk while also allowing them to grow their magic beyond someone who only sinks 10 levels into a spell. There are also custom summons and different weapon enchant tomes that can be found around the server to change spells such as darkfire/flame weapon to other helpful elements.
As far as dungeons are concerned FRC is probably at it's best for those who love to RP while adventuring. Yes there are the cities, lonely roads, quiet forests, and other fantastic RP spaces but there are also a ton of monsters and places to explore all over the server. This doesn't mean you can't live the quiet life though as a character who just wants to settle down and interact with others, but really it's all how you want to play your character, as it should be.
A non toxic atmosphere? Everywhere has it's drama at times but we do our best to keep things relaxed and fun.
I realize there was a point or two I didn't touch on but I hope this gives at least a general idea. If you'd like more information we can be found at...
Forums: https://www.frc.proboards.com
Discord: https://discord.com/invite/8JevCXW
If this sounds like something you might be interested in, come pay us a visit. If not, I wish you the best of luck in finding what you're looking for.
That's awesome to hear. I love the idea of being able to rp creation of a town or settlement of some kind. Is eating a necessity like it is in some? I like that rp touch. If so can you grow food or harvest it some how? I feel like it would be sweet to open an inn and give quests to players and sell them food and rent rooms haha.
As far as food in general, there are many places across the server(forests, caves, gardens, bushes, trees, etc) where players can attempt to forage or pick fruit/vegetables. The success of finding and harvest such things are further aided by putting points into the Search skill.
I like your idea to make the concept around food in general more player driven and interactive though. Perhaps it's something we could work towards implementing in a future content update. We currently have placeable furniture such as chairs, blankets, etc, that can be used straight from the inventory and set down anywhere, then picked back up again. I see no reason why we couldn't do something similar with all manner of food or crops in general at some point.
If not, happy hunting
Thanks.
One of my favorite things able table top rpg is the ability to role play with abilities outside combat: ie. Using bards abilities and songs to sway a community into helping him, conversing with a diety a cleric is given deeper insight, wizards building a tower and conducting research into custom spells. One example is a dnd campaign I played once our gnome bard glamoured a village into making him mayor with his music. He proceeded to militarized the city and raise its economy meanwhile building fortifications. We then used the now walled city state as a location to confront the bbeg.
I know this is largely impossible stuff to translate into video games but am wondering if your world has something that allows for autonomy in that sense. Possibly around the wizardry research or charismatic interplay with npcs etc.
Thanks.
As far as autonomy, a wizard could be RP'ed as interacting with NPC's(rp'ed by a DM) and work towards building something, yes it's entirely possible.
Sorry for the really late post, but if you or others come across this down the road check out Avlis which has just finally switched over to EE last November.
"What is it? The purpose of the CGD is fairly simple; to provide a framework through which players might share details about their character's goals, values and beliefs with the team. This is so that DMs can rapidly inform themselves of characters they intend to be DMing and can better tailor a narrative to a particular PC's values or goals. This is not a request for DM attention. Submitting to this database is not a guarantee that any of it will be actualized, it's to let the team know what your character is working towards as well as let us know a bit about your background. You can update the form whenever you want as often as you need, so don't worry if you start off simple. Even if all you include is your basic background, that's very helpful to the Event DM Team."
https://wiki.avlis.org/Getting_Started#Step_6:_Submit_a_Character_Goal_Database_.26_Background_Form.
You can also sign up for the forums to set up emails from in-character sections of the forum where plenty of people like to give lots of detailed information about what is going on in their character's lives. I set them to come to my email.
2. Dungeon delving and rewards
Avlis has Nine linked servers that are linked together that you can walk to. There are also portals and a caravan system that can speed up the walk time while traveling at a slight GP cost. Here is a list of the Dungeons they have.
https://wiki.avlis.org/List_of_dungeons
The rewards are done by either DM loot from events, or special items they give to characters that did exceptional roleplaying, and anything else is done by the Drop System (DPLS) Details can be found here.
https://wiki.avlis.org/Drop_System
There is another system that uses Legacy Tokens that are given out by the DM after certain events which you can use to get better high-end gear. Details can be found here.
https://www.avlis.org/viewtopic.php?f=86&t=140801&p=1473524&hilit=announcing+legacy#p1473524
There is a junk system.
"Junk Processors are scattered throughout the servers in the Recycling Centers. They will accept some Aberration Parts, Vermin Pieces, Dried Oozes, Hides and Broken Weapons you collect from adventuring.
You have two options when using the Junk Processor:
Use the processor to turn the materials into crafting components. Parts, Pieces, Oozes and Hides will yield "Organic" components, while Broken Weapons will yield "Inorganic" components.
Sell the Parts, Pieces, Oozes, Hides or Weapons directly to the Junk Processing NPC."
https://wiki.avlis.org/Junk_Processing
3. Cities with interaction such as setting up shops
There is a customer housing system and you can build houses in the Aurora toolset according to the rules they have for them.
https://wiki.avlis.org/Rules:Player_Housing
4. Ability to make buildings/villages with friends
I'm pretty sure you can do this with the player housing rules noted previously. I know of people characters that have built castles and I think some areas that I've walked through are from player housing.
5. Possibly ability to hire NPCs to run businesses like inns.
I believe this is part of the initial cost of setting up your player housing or area and is not a cost you have to keep paying over time. Not a bad idea though.
Speaking of ideas, if you have a good one and the team agrees with you they may just implement it. This is the forum thread.
https://www.avlis.org/viewforum.php?f=444
6. Mostly player-driven with decent player volume
It is possible to set up your event on the forum Calender. If you get enough attention DM's just may join and make it a little more, or a lot more interesting.
I'm not sure if it can be considered mostly player driven but during the EE transition last November they had the players (that wanted to) try and come up with crafted items or solutions on how to stop the Red Star from destroying the world, which was the big event and reason why the server had to be down for 3 day's while they upgraded all the modules to the new servers. The DM's do run events and you can find them on the forum which has a calendar at the top of the home page. There is also a Discord server with a channel called "Announcements" where some DM's will post their events.
Avlis has numerous custom systems that caused the 4-year delay in rejoining the NWN EE update. You can find the list of systems they have been building since the game started back in 2003. You can find the list of the custom systems here.
"Addiction - PCs consuming alcohol and drugs risk addiction. Withdrawal symptoms will gradually subside, if consumption is halted.
Ammunition Management System - Allows for the automatic queueing of various chosen types of ammunition selected in advance.
Alteration Machines - Alter the design, color, and/or name label of existing items.
Augment Crystals - Augment existing enchantments on items.
Avlis Bonus vs. Favored Enemies - Gives more firepower to Rangers.
Avlis Command Prompt (ACP) - Command prompt type functions entered in the chat line.
Avlis Pickpocket Mode - You can plant an item in a PC's pocket, just as well as take one.
Barbarian Rage - Changes to standard rage, as well as additional Specialization sub-classes (BRS styles) among the Barbarian class.
Bardic Music - Legendary songbooks provide nine new ways for Bards to use their bard song ability.
Bartending - A "mixology" tradeskill allowing players to make cocktails. At higher levels PC bartenders can mix magical potions.
Blunderbuss - The original Gnomish ammunition launcher.
Character Description - Instructions on how to delete, change, or edit the in character description others see when they examine your character.
CEP weapon feats - Applying weapon feats to CEP weapons.
Companion Training System (CTS) - Training new companions for Druids and Rangers.
Cooking - A subskill of the Herbalism tradeskill that allows players to prepare food and beverages.
Crafting - Creating armour, clothing, gems, healing kits, jewelry, potions, weapons, and more. Gathering resources, mining and wood cutting.
Custom Races - New custom Avlis races and how to create a character with one.
Death Attack - Avlis custom version of the Death Attack feat available to the Annihilator and Assassin prestige classes.
Death and Dying - Avlis death system.
Disease - Diseases on Avlis have different DCs than the NWN implementation.
Economy and Persistence - The Avlis economy. Persistent chests, corpses, merchants.
Recycling System - Creates a continuous process tasked towards the disposal of loot drops and crafted durable goods, combined with a way to obtain crafting ingredients through a token exchange system.
Drop System - Loot drop alterations on Avlis.
Junk Processing - Dispose of remains of creature hides and broken weapons you find when adventuring.
Inn Room & Storage Renting System, Player Housing
Experience System - Spans the specifics of allotting experience points to PCs.
Emote System - A way to have your character perform emotive actions, dice rolls, get information on various systems, etc.
Emote Radial Menu - Performing actions via the radial menu.
Emote Keywords - Performing actions as you type.
Voice Throw - Emotes for your companion.
Fishing - Fishing for... fish.
Magic System - Information on how magic works on Avlis.
Advanced Magic Specializations (AMS) - Spell-casting "prestige classes" to give spell-casters additional options and specializations.
Artificing System - Information on creating magic items on Avlis.
Spell List - List of spells that are part of the Avlis spell hooking system.
Militant Level Bonuses - Militant Level Bonuses are enhanced effects that certain spells have on militant characters.
Summon Familiar - Customizations of the mage familiar appearance on Avlis.
Monk Signature Moves - Additional abilities for monks.
New Character Staging - New player characters can get gold, gear, and alter their appearance before making their entrance in the world.
Note System (ANS) - A system for writing notes and sending letters on Avlis.
NUI - NUI is the Nuklear User Interface that NWN:EE has for pop-up windows.
Persistent Map Pins - Save your map pins!
Psionics - A new class and powers for Psionics on Avlis.
Prestige Classes - New custom Avlis prestige classes.
Shifter Form Replacements - Replacements for Shifter and other shape-changing spell forms.
Survivalist Tradeskill - Allows use of the meat drops from the loot system.
Trap System - Avlis modified system for setting, retrieving, triggering, and crafting traps.
Tyeduan Banes - Allows all classes to enjoy a temporary version of Favored Enemy (feat).
Unofficial or 3rd Party:
Dynamic Dye Color Chart
Avlis Custom Portraits (Since EE this has NUI in Game pop-up screen so you can now change the portrait in-game)
https://wiki.avlis.org/Category:Systems
If anyone wants to come play and check it out here is the get started Wiki page.
https://wiki.avlis.org/Getting_Started